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1 And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "she is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, "Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife." 4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, "Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister?' And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this." ~ Genesis 20:1-5
Today, we transition into Genesis 20 where we see Abraham doing the same thing he had done thirty years ago in Egypt; he lied. In today's passage we find him down in Gerar, the sea coast on the southwest side of Palestine, just above the Gulf of Suez on the way to Egypt. The people who lived in that area were later called the Philistines. These were the enemies of Israel from whom came Goliath, the giant David slew. These people were not Canaanites, but Egyptians who had moved up to the border of the land of Palestine. They were people who didn't know the Lord, but they were as close to the truth of God as they could get while remaining unregenerate.
In v.1 of today's passage we read, "And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar."
Abraham moved from the terebinth trees at Mamre to Gerar because Gerar was a place of better pastures and living for his people. Gerar was between Kadesh and Shur which was a place of rich, well-watered land. The king of this group of people was named Abimelech, which means "my father is king."
Interestingly, the city "Shur" represents the never-ceasing progress and development of man. In his development man has always moved in cycles, and each time he comes again to his starting place he seems to be a little in advance of his former state. The city "Kadesh" represents the holiness of God. Abraham "dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar." Gerar symbolizes everyday living. Abraham had on one hand Kadesh, the ideal state, and on the other hand Shur or unceasing progress. This scene represents the battle that we are all as believers in the Lord enraged in. And, whoever defines us the most in a given day will be reflected in our lives.
In v.2 of today's passage we read, "Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister. And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.'"
Like he had done so many years before in Egypt, Abraham lied about his wife's identity. This underscores that Sarah was still an attractive woman. It was as if Abraham had not learned his lesson. In Genesis 12 Pharaoh took Sarah, and now, Abimelech the king of Gerar took her again. Once again, Abraham followed the dictates of the flesh as if he had not learned anything about following the Lord. It was Abraham's fear that informed this decision to be yet again deceitful. His fear was rooted in his distrust of God.
There is nothing wrong with being afraid; fear is not sin in itself. It is natural, and even necessary, at times. Without fear there would not be any real bravery. A brave person is just someone who has learned how to control their fear and to go ahead despite it, rather than someone who has no capacity to feel it. The essence of sin is the fear that leads us to the rejection of God and this is where our bravery is diminished.
The Scriptures are careful to inform us that "the fear of the Lord," is the anecdote that we are in searched of to deal with all of our fears. The Hebrew word translated "fear" is used in the Old Testament 314 times. Sometimes it is translated "fear," sometimes "afraid." But, a third most common translation is "terrible" or "terrible thing." Interestingly, there are several verses that include the phrase "and sin not" along with the command to not fear. This then leads us to the answer that addresses the problem: It is the fear of the Lord that leads us to the victory that our souls long for because it is out of our awesome reverence of the almighty God that our fears serve us rather than we them.
At this point in the narrative, Sarah was now about 89 years old and Isaac was expected to be born within the next year. But, Abimelech king of Gerar took Sarah away from Abraham. With her in the king’s household this could have been problematic except for the omnipotence and omnipresence of God.
In v.3 of today's passage we read, "But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, 'Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.'"
Elohim, the Creator, went to Abimelech in a dream through which He informed the King that Sarah was Abraham's wife. Coming in a dream is something that happens throughout the Bible and when it happens, there is no doubt who controls the dream or who is speaking.
In v.4 of today's passage we read, "But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, 'Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also?'"
King Abimelech had not even gone near Sarah since she was brought into his harem. This verse and one to come are put here specifically to let us know that the child to be born to Sarah in the future came from Abraham and not from anyone involved in her time away from him.
Abimelech addressed God as "Adonai," revealing he had knowledge of the true God of the Bible. He knew that Adonai was not just one of many gods, but rather the One true Creator who is also active in this world since He created it. Abimelech asked this question because he knew that God had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister?' And she, even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this."
Undoubtedly, Abraham had met with Abimelech and introduced his "sister" to him. It was probably right then that Abimelech decided to take Sarah. To this point there wasn’t any fault in Abimelech. This is why he told the Lord that he was innocent in the matter.
Fear which is permitted to linger too long usually turns into sin. Fear becomes sinful when it draws us away from the Lord and leads us to trust in anything other than Him. It is true that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." The fear of the Lord isn't being afraid of God to the point of running from Him; It is being afraid of Him in such a way that we run to Him. The fear of the Lord is to be afraid to be away from Him.
In Hebrew 11:7 we read, "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."
As we learn in Hebrews 11, faith begins with discontent. We can never have much faith unless we are dissatisfied with the way we are now, and are longing for something better. Biblical faith means we seek God. This is why the writer of Hebrews wrote, "He that comes to God must believe that he is, that God exists." But, he didn't stop there, he went on to write, "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." And, the more we seek Him, the more we will know Him. This explains Noah's long journey.
It took Noah 120 years to build the ark by which he and his family were saved. They were saved because Noah was warned by God of the impending disaster that was to come. Noah was the only one who heeded the warnings of God which led him to build the ark. His obedience stemmed from His knowledge of the great God who created all things. It is this great God who will dissolve all of our fears into oblivion if we just allow Him to do so. In fact, He has been known to turn our fears into weapons to advance is kingdom not only in our hearts, but even in the hearts of our supposed enemies.
